Alumni and Development

Carmen Reese Foster, LMSW, LSSW

Coordinator of Field Education, MSSW Program - Online, and
Assistant Professor of Practice

Education:

BA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

MSW, University of Maryland

Courses Taught:

Generalist Field Practice Full Time I/Extended (SW542, SW43, and SW544)

Advanced Field Practice (SW584, SW586, and SW587)

Personal Statement:

Carmen Reese Foster has previously served as a Field Instructor, Field Liaison, and as a member of the MSSW Field Advisory Council for the University of Tennessee. In November 2017, she joined the College of Social Work as an Assistant Professor of Practice and the Online Field Coordinator for Middle and West Tennessee. This position allows her to develop and nurture relationships with social workers and community agencies in the community, to instruct students in field seminar, to orient and train field instructors and field liaisons, and to work with the field team to further develop and evaluate field education.

Carmen's practice experience includes serving as the Outreach Coordinator at HopeWell Cancer Support in Baltimore, as a School Social Worker with Metro Nashville Public Schools and most recently as the Intern Director with Preston Taylor Ministries (PTM), a Christian non-profit that helps provide services to under-resourced youth in West Nashville. While at PTM, Carmen directed the Social Work Program and provided oversight for BSW and MSW students from universities across Middle Tennessee. She coordinated a range of group counseling programs for vulnerable youth that included emotional regulation, social skills, self-esteem, and executive functioning, while also training staff and volunteers about cultural competency and ACEs. Carmen worked closely with college and post-college students by implementing a year of service program called “LEAP Year” for young adults who are passionate about serving vulnerable families in the heart of Nashville.